Have you ever had someone tell you that Jesus didn’t understand some of the things going on and happening around Him? Or that our Lord and Savior was in need of correction? Have you had a pastor tell you that the One who said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9), needed help figuring out God’s will? That is what Rev. Delmer Chilton, an assistant to the bishop of the Southeastern Synod of the ELCA, wrote in an article that was posted by the ELCA’s Living Lutheran website.

Rev. Chilton, in discussing Mark 7:24-37, wrote, “What if Jesus was the one who did not fully understand and needed some help interpreting God’s will and way in this case? Maybe Jesus needed to have his vision cleared and his worldview adjusted so that he could see just exactly how large God’s love is.”

Later he states, “(Jesus) has failed to remember” God’s promise.

Rev. Chilton goes on to say, “. . . Jesus stands corrected . . .the woman has helped Jesus to understand a difficult part of the Scripture and a difficult part of his call. The further Jesus goes in his ministry the deeper his understanding of his mission becomes. And this deeper understanding is a result of his encounters with people who aren’t afraid to confront him with hard and difficult truths.”

Finally he states, “The good news of God’s grace and love changes people. It heals them, changes their relationships, changes the way they see right and wrong, rich and poor, us and them. It even changed Jesus and the way he saw the world and the way he saw himself in it.” (see here)

This is not true and not Biblical. It is incredibly wrong that a high leader in the ELCA publicly teaches this, let alone thinks it.

A gentlemen going by the name “Davey” commented on Rev. Chilton’s article saying, “I have never considered before that Jesus did anything by accident. I have never thought of Jesus learning anything from any one. Jesus knew answers before questions were asked. He told people where they have been, where they were going, and healed their sickness without being told of the symptoms. He spoke and the elements obeyed. Why would Jesus need to find out how large God’s love is when Jesus demonstrated that He is in fact…God?

Driving a wedge between God the Father and God the Son seems an inadequate and un-Biblical way to define Jesus. Jesus was not on a fact finding mission to take notes from earthlings so He could better understand how God the Father wanted Him to act. Is this yet another new theology coming from the leadership of the church?” (read here)

These comments were obviously made in response to the passage in which Jesus refers to the Syropheonician woman as a "dog," a term for Gentiles. Liberal Lutherans want to interpret the bible through their politically correct, but false and deadly prism.

Reply

Stacey

9/15/2012 02:05:08 am

When 2009 CWA happened, friends of mine thought I was over-reacting when I suggested that sooner or later the ELCA would downgrade Jesus to just being a great guy who had some good ideas now and then, so that they could ignore his teachings. Looks like that's happening sooner!

What's next? If Jesus needs "help" in understanding God's will, are they going to teach people to direct their prayers to "enlighten" Jesus now? That would be a convenient way of getting rid of his teachings about marriage, and anything else he has said that we find inconvenient.